Scientists have captured the sound of a perfect fluid, which flows with the smallest amount of friction allowed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT
The results should help scientists study the viscosity in neutron stars, the plasma of the early universe, and other strongly interacting fluids.
For some, the sound of a perfect flow might be the gentle lapping of a forest brook or perhaps the tinkling of water poured from a pitcher. For physicists, a perfect flow is more specific, referring to a fluid that flows with the smallest amount of friction, or viscosity, allowed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Such perfectly fluid behavior is rare in nature, but it is thought to occur in the cores of neutron stars and in the soupy plasma of the early universe.
Now MIT physicists have created a perfect fluid in the laboratory, and found that it sounds something like this:
This recording is a product of a glissando of sound waves that the team sent through a carefully controlled gas of elementary particles known as fermions. The pitches that can be heard are the particular frequencies at which the gas resonates like a plucked string.
The researchers analyzed thousands of sound waves traveling through this gas, to measure its sound diffusion, or how quickly sound dissipates in the gas, which is related directly to a materials viscosity, or internal friction.
Surprisingly, they found that the fluids sound diffusion was so low as to be described by a quantum amount of friction, given by a constant of nature known as Plancks constant, and the mass of the individual fermions in the fluid.
This fundamental value confirmed that the strongly interacting fermion gas behaves as a perfect fluid, and is universal in nature. The results, published today in the journal Science, demonstrate the first time that scientists have been able to measure sound diffusion in a perfect fluid.
Scientists can now use the fluid as a model of other, more complicated perfect flows, to estimate the viscosity of the plasma in the early universe, as well as the quantum friction within neutron stars properties that would otherwise be impossible to calculate. Scientists might even be able to approximately predict the sounds they make.
Its quite difficult to listen to a neutron star, says Martin Zwierlein, the Thomas A. Frank Professor of Physics at MIT. But now you could mimic it in a lab using atoms, shake that atomic soup and listen to it, and know how a neutron star would sound.
While a neutron star and the teams gas differ widely in terms of their size and the speed at which sound travels through, from some rough calculations Zwierlein estimates that the stars resonant frequencies would be similar to those of the gas, and even audible if you could get your ear close without being ripped apart by gravity, he adds.
Zwierleins co-authors are lead author Parth Patel, Zhenjie Yan, Biswaroop Mukherjee, Richard Fletcher, and Julian Struck of the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms.
To create a perfect fluid in the lab, Zwierleins team generated a gas of strongly interacting fermions elementary particles, such as electrons, protons, and neutrons, that are considered the building blocks of all matter. A fermion is defined by its half-integer spin, a property that prevents one fermion from assuming the same spin as another nearby fermion. This exclusive nature is what enables the diversity of atomic structures found in the periodic table of elements.
If electrons were not fermions, but happy to be in the same state, hydrogen, helium, and all atoms, and we ourselves, would look the same, like some terrible, boring soup, Zwierlein says.
Fermions naturally prefer to keep apart from each other. But when they are made to strongly interact, they can behave as a perfect fluid, with very low viscosity. To create such a perfect fluid, the researchers first used a system of lasers to trap a gas of lithium-6 atoms, which are considered fermions.
The researchers precisely configured the lasers to form an optical box around the fermion gas. The lasers were tuned such that whenever the fermions hit the edges of the box they bounced back into the gas. Also, the interactions between fermions were controlled to be as strong as allowed by quantum mechanics, so that inside the box, fermions had to collide with each other at every encounter. This made the fermions turn into a perfect fluid.
We had to make a fluid with uniform density, and only then could we tap on one side, listen to the other side, and learn from it, Zwierlein says. It was actually quite diffult to get to this place where we could use sound in this seemingly natural way.
The team then sent sound waves through one side of the optical box by simply varying the brightness of one of the walls, to generate sound-like vibrations through the fluid at particular frequencies. They recorded thousands of snapshots of the fluid as each sound wave rippled through.
All these snapshots together give us a sonogram, and its a bit like whats done when taking an ultrasound at the doctors office, Zwierlein says.
In the end, they were able to watch the fluids density ripple in response to each type of sound wave. They then looked for the sound frequencies that generated a resonance, or an amplified sound in the fluid, similar to singing at a wine glass and finding the frequency at which it shatters.
The quality of the resonances tells me about the fluids viscosity, or sound diffusivity, Zwierlein explains. If a fluid has low viscosity, it can build up a very strong sound wave and be very loud, if hit at just the right frequency. If its a very viscous fluid, then it doesnt have any good resonances.
From their data, the researchers observed clear resonances through the fluid, particularly at low frequencies. From the distribution of these resonances, they calculated the fluids sound diffusion. This value, they found, could also be calculated very simply via Plancks constant and the mass of the average fermion in the gas.
This told the researchers that the gas was a perfect fluid, and fundamental in nature: Its sound diffusion, and therefore its viscosity, was at the lowest possible limit set by quantum mechanics.
Zwierlein says in addition to using the results to estimate quantum friction in more exotic matter, such as neutron stars, the results can be helpful in understanding how certain materials might be made to exhibit perfect, superconducting flow.
This work connects directly to resistance in materials, Zwierlein says. Having figured out whats the lowest resistance you could have from a gas tells us what can happen with electrons in materials, and how one might make materials where electrons could flow in a perfect way. Thats exciting.
Reference: Universal sound diffusion in a strongly interacting Fermi gas by Parth B. Patel, Zhenjie Yan, Biswaroop Mukherjee, Richard J. Fletcher, Julian Struck and Martin W. Zwierlein, 4 December 2020, Science.DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz5756
This research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and the NSF Center for Ultracold Atoms, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Office of Naval Research, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Read the original post:
MIT Physicists Created a Perfect Fluid and Captured the Sound Listen Here - SciTechDaily
- Netflixs 3 Body Problem: The science explained by an astrophysicist - Vox.com - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Entanglement entropies of nuclear systems gro - EurekAlert - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The Quest for a Theory of Everything Scientists Put Einstein to the Test - SciTechDaily - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Vibrating atoms are seen 'tuning' the energy of a single electron - Earth.com - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Innovator Spotlight: Joseph Maciejko | The Quad - University of Alberta - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- A Breakthrough in the Control of Quantum Phenomena at Room Temperature Has Been Achieved, Researchers Say - The Debrief - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The End of the Quantum Ice Age: Room Temperature Breakthrough - SciTechDaily - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Quantum computer outperformed by new traditional computing - Earth.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- URI program to help STEM professionals pivot into quantum information science careers - The University of Rhode Island - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Quantum realm controlled at room temperature for the first time - Earth.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Quantum Breakthrough: New Method Preserves Information Against All Odds - SciTechDaily - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Quantum computers get new design that makes them more "useful" - Earth.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Beyond Classical Physics: Scientists Discover New State of Matter With Chiral Properties - SciTechDaily - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Quantum research sheds light on the mystery of high-temperature superconductivity - Tech Explorist - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Unlocking the Mysteries of Quantum Many-Body Systems: A Look at Quantum Simulators and Universal Scaling ... - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Functioning quantum internet makes giant stride closer to reality - Earth.com - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Exploring New Futures in Space: A Revolutionary Integration of Neuroscience, Quantum Physics, and Space Exploration - SETI Institute - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Uncovering the Quantum Plateau: Significance and Implications | Nature Physics - Medriva - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- The State of the Art in Quantum Computing - Medium - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Beyond the Visible Universe: New Research Reveals How Gravity Influences the Quantum Realm - SciTechDaily - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Leader of IBM's Quantum Safe Team to speak at URI - University of Rhode Island - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- University Assistant Predoctoral, Physics job with UNIVERSITY OF ... - Times Higher Education - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Zentropy A New Theory That Could Transform Material Science - SciTechDaily - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Researchers Studying the Quantum Realm Observe Alice in ... - The Debrief - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Augusta University graduate starts business in the artificial ... - Jagwire Augusta - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Quantum Echoes: A Revolutionary Method to Store Information as Sound Waves - SciTechDaily - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- 'Quantum superchemistry' observed for the 1st time ever - Space.com - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Quantum Avalanche A Phenomenon That May Revolutionize Microelectronics and Supercomputing - SciTechDaily - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Applications of quantum mechanics at the beach - Symmetry magazine - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Book Review: On the Origin of Time Stephen Hawking's Final Theory - Moose Jaw Today - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Harnessing Quantum Technologies: The Next Big Leap in Global ... - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The quantum avalanche - At the Vienna University of Technology, it ... - Chemie.de - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Semiconductors: The Linchpin of AI in Quantum Computing - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The Promising Collaboration Between AI and Quantum Computing - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- String theory physicist changed quantum field theory - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- QUANTUM SUPERCOMPUTERS. The words Quantum and ... - Medium - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Fourteen MIT School of Science professors receive tenure for 2022 ... - MIT News - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The Fascinating World of Quantum Integrated Circuits: The Next Big ... - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Conclusive Evidence for Modified Gravity: Collapse of Newton's and ... - SciTechDaily - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Physicists Open New Path to an Exotic Form of Superconductivity - SciTechDaily - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The Principle of Least Action Now Exists in the Quantum Realm - Popular Mechanics - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Quantum materials: Electron spin measured for the first time - EurekAlert - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Life in a hologram | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT News - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- If Black Holes Evaporate, Everything Evaporates - Universe Today - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Clever Ant-Man Easter Egg Links The Movie to the Real World's ... - Startefacts - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Quantum Cryptography: The Cutting Edge of Secure Communication - CityLife - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- This 17-year-old works to make quantum mainstream - Indiatimes.com - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- The multiverse is doomed and even Spider-Man and The Flash can't save it - Yahoo Entertainment - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Physics of Time Travel: A Scientific Perspective - Mirage News - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Quantum Spin Liquids: The Future of Superconductors - EnergyPortal.eu - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Interview: Three Books That Make Tess Gunty Angry - The New York Times - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Events Calendar School of Mathematics and Statistics Colloquium ... - Carleton University - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Graphene and Quantum Computing: A Match Made in Heaven - CityLife - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- A Quantum Computer Simulation Has Reversed Time And Physics May Never Be The Same - Twisted Sifter - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Realizing the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox for Atomic Clouds - Physics - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The US and UK team up to advance quantum information science - Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- How plants can perform feats of quantum mechanics - Big Think - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Physicists Make Matter out of Light to Find Quantum Singularities - Scientific American - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Eventually everything will evaporate, not only black holes - Science Daily - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Julius-Maximillians-Universitt Wrzburg Researchers Use ... - HPCwire - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- TNTs The Lazarus Project Uses Suspense Trapping to Ask Smart ... - Roger Ebert - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Quantum Exponential: building a cutting edge quantum technology ... - The Armchair Trader - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- IMDEA Software and IMDEA Networks work to deploy in the ... - EurekAlert - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Ian Hacking, Eminent Philosopher of Science and Much Else, Dies ... - The New York Times - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Does mass increase when nearing the speed of light? - Big Think - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Answering Questions about Boring Numbers, Disasters, Fusion, and ... - Scientific American - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse | Reel World | timesnewspapers ... - Webster-Kirkwood Times, Inc. - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- There's a Secret Way to Get to Absolute Zero. Scientists Just Found It. - Popular Mechanics - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Photon Precision: How Quantum Physicists Shattered the Bounds of Sensitivity - SciTechDaily - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Do we live in a hologram? Why physics is still mesmerised by this idea - New Scientist - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Is Ultimate Truth an Equation? Nah. The Stute - The Stute - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- UChicago Lab Creates 'Quantum Casino,' a Win-Win to Educate and ... - Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Physics - Tweezers in Three Dimensions - Physics - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Brave new world: On the edge of a second quantum revolution - University of Cape Town News - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Researchers pull back the quantum curtain on 'Weyl fermions' - Phys.org - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Scale separation: Breaking down unsolvable problems into solvable ones - Phys.org - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Postdoctoral Research Associate in Quantum Optics job with ... - Times Higher Education - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Australia's first quantum strategy predicts $6 billion in revenue and ... - SmartCompany - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Nature's Quantum Secret: Link Discovered Between Photosynthesis ... - SciTechDaily - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Two ERC proof of concept grants for the University of Bonn - EurekAlert - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]